Angle bracket for ladders



Feb. 28, 1950 B. c. DYE'R 2,498,944

- AN GLE BRACKET FOR LADDERS Filed March 12, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l b a. 5b

. Ba. 2.6L ab 8b a; I70.) [7b I ZIPE INVENTOR. I

Feb. 28, 1950 B. c; DYER ANGLE BRACKET FOR LADDERS,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 12', 1947 mmvroa. I Bernard C. D

BY M Patented Feb. 28, 1950 UfNSI' TE D STATES E N MI E AN GLEBRACKET FOR LADDERS;

Be'rnardC. Dyer, Pittsford,..N-.L.YL

Application -March- 12, M mi-Serial No; 73452 6 Claims; (Cl. .304.31.5).

Ladders are in common: useand need" not be described or illustrated for the purpose of disclosing'this invention. Ladders are of various widths between the uprights and on different ladders the rungsare spaced apart various distances between centers, andladders are not ordinarily provided-with bracket platform supports.

The object of this invention is to providea bracket platformsupport' that is rigid in' itself and can beadjustedto fit thedistance between centers of rungs on a ladder and can beeasily andipositively attached to a ladder and easily removeditherefrom; and which when in position on the ladder'will provide a platform or deck thiatis substantially horizontal and on-which the workman canstand' or canlay his tools while working;

Another object of the. inventionisto provide a bracket platform that is easily adjusted w nt the. rungs of the ladderand" can be attachedto and removed from the average ladder-as a rigid structure;

Another object of. the invention is to provide certain adjustments :on the bracket support that will. make it fit: on the rungs of the;ladder' itself or holdv the deck or. platform .in any desired position, more especially level.

Another object of the invention isto make a bracketsupport. which when suitably, placed on the ladder becomes an integral'part thereof and will hold itself in placebyzgravity'and is as strong as the. ladder itself.

Theseand other objects. of the inventionwill be illustrated in the. drawings, described. in the specification and pointed out in the claims at the end-thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1.is a side. elevation of the bracket support shown in position on the ladder with one; side of.v the ladder'broken away.

Figure 2 is a front elevationof the bracket sup:- port shown in Figure .1, the ladderbeing omitted.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section on the line 3x, 3:c of Figure 2, showingthe lower bracket plate in section andattached to the lower tierod.

Figure. 4 is an enlarged section'through the uprightmember and the brace and the intermediate tie rod, the section being taken.on'theline'lx, 4d: of "Figure. 2;

Figure 5' is a top plan view of the assembly looking down on itfrom above as shown more especially in Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a vertical section on the line 65c, 65c ofFigure 5' through the deckandthe'metal parts attached tothe under 'sidethereof; namely, the

2 long gangle bar'andzithe'shortangle'bracket plate, also showing.- the v upright? strap member partly brokemaway; theparts: being shown on an enlarged Scale.

Figure-:7 shows an enlarged section on the line Tm, 1:c-of-Figure-2-, the parts; namely; the :upright strap and the flatrecessed plate being shown on an enlarged scale as compared with Figure: l; the upright .member being broken away at the top.

Figure 81iS'IaI1 enlarged sectionionthe line 8x, 8a: of Figure lshowing the inclinedbrace; the deck, the: long angleiron supportingrthedeck and the washerxspacing thezangle iron from the brace.

In the: drawings, like: reference: numerals indicate likeparts;

Thisinventionconsists of la platformin: the form of a woodendeck supported'from two rungs of aladder by metal; parts in the form of a bracket andit will be; also understood that: the

metalpart's on each side of the bracket platform are the sameand are placed symmetrical with the corresponding parts on the otherside and'in the specification the'parts on one side are indicated bythelett'ewa and on the other side are indicatedby the lett'er.b; the same numeral being used on b'othsides'f'or the'correspondingv part.

In the drawings reference numeral la. indicat'es the upright on the'tar sideiof a ladder and lb represents the upright on the near side of theladder. Both oftheseuprightsare broken away as shown'in- Fig-ure'l.

2a and-2b indicate-the long'upright's or straps of my=bracket support; and hand 31)" indicate theshortangle bracketswhich are placed'centrall'y under each side'of' the deck. Each of these short angles is cut away at 4a andlb to form a socket or recess which'can engage with the upper rung of'the two rungs of the ladderwith'which my bracket support is engaged;

5d and 5b indicate the long angles which support the boards 6 and I thatconstitute the deck of the bracket platform. The long uprights 2a and 2bare pivotally' connected to these long angles.

8a and"8bindicate the inclined braces of strap iron that connecttheouter ends of the longangles 5a and 5b withthe intermediate parts of the long upright straps or members 20. and 2b. The angles 51'; and'5b are connected at the forward end to the corresponding braces 8a and 8bby rivets, which permit each brace toswingon its corresponding 'angle.

The boardsfi and 1 that form the platform or deck; space the long'anglesa and 5b apart. The boards are fastened'to the" angles 5a and 517' by screws Illa and lllb, lid and Nb, which screws pass through the boards and are threaded into the long angles near the ends of the angles. Corresponding screws Hat and 12b, l3a. and 13b pass through the boards 6 and l and through the long angles a and 5b and into the short (angles 3a and 3?) into which they are threaded. These screws firmly hold the metal parts to the boards of the deck.

The upright strap members 2a. and 2b are spaced apart intermediate of their ends by the tie rod M.

The tie rod I4 is held in place by screws [9a and i972 at each end thereof, which screws pass idly through the lower ends of the braces or links 8a and 8b and through the upright strap members 2a and 2b and are threaded into the ends of the tie rod [4 itself.

At the bottom, the tie rod l5 engages with the plate Ila and Nb and spaces them and the long links 20, and 2b apart. The tie rod [5 is held in place by screws 25a and 252) that pass idly through plates Ila and ill; and are threaded into the ends of the tie rod.

It will also be understood that the plates l'la or lib are fastened to the long straps 2a and 2b with a sliding engagement that will presently be explained. These plates lid and III) are cut away from the bottom up with elongated tapered slots Mia and lab which slots on one side run substantially parallel to the upright members 2a and 2b and are wider at the bottom than they are at the top. This facilitates engagement between the plates lla'and Nb and the lower rung of the ladder to which the bracket is attached as shown in Figure 1. It also facilitates engagement with rungs of different thicknesses.

In this manner the side-members of the structure are spaced apart and are firmly held together by. the boards 5 and l and by the tie rods i and i5. The tie rod [5 together with the rung of the ladder adjacent thereto forms a step by which the Workman can be supported in stepping therefrom to the deck of the angle bracket,

it being offset from the rung of the ladder and r the upright of the ladder for this purpose.

It will also be seen that the plates lid and ill) are connected to the upright 2a and 2b by screws that pass through slots 26d and 21a on one side of the assembly'and 20b and 2!?) on the other side of the assembly. These screws are threaded into the plates Fla and lib. By loosening the screws, the plate Na, and Nb can be adjusted up or down on the uprights so that the angle plates 3c and 31) will snugly fit on the upper rung of the ladder with which they are supposed to be engaged. This makes it certain that the weight of the bracket support, if necessary, will rest evenly upon the two rungs of the ladder.

The upright members 2a. and 2b are perforated midway with a series of holes 2211. and 22?) so that the lower end of the link or brace 8a or 819 can be fastened at any of several elevations by a screw that goes into any one of those holes which screws engage with the ends-of tie rod M. This makes it possible to level up the deck formed by the boards 6 and l regardless of the pitch of the ladder.

With the assembly thus formed it is engaged with two rungs of the ladder. The lower plates lid and ill) are adjusted up or down to correspond with the distance between centers of the rungs of the ladder, andif the rungs are evenly spaced between centers as they should be on any one ladder, the bracket supports will fit at any 4 elevation on the ladder and will hold the deck in a position that is horizontal or nearly so.

With the angle bracket support assembled in this way, it will be found to be a rigid structure that can be placed on the ladder at any desired elevation and can be easily removed therefrom and can be easily changed to fit ladders having different distances between the centers of the rungs.

It will also be understood that while I have described the deck at the top being made of wood and the other members of this angle bracket support for the deck being made of metal, all the members can be made of wood, if so desired.

Iclaim:

1. In an angle bracket for a ladder, the combination of upright members running substantially parallel to the uprights of the ladder, long horizontally extending angle irons at the top of the upright members and pivotally connected thereto and having inwardly and upwardly extending flanges, short angle irons attached to the under side of said long angle irons midway between the ends thereof, said short angle irons having inwardly and downwardly extending flanges, downwardly opening recesses cut in the downwardly-extending flanges of said short angle irons, said downwardly extending flanges with their recesses being adapted to engage with the rungs of a ladder, plates engaged with the upright members near the bottom thereof, each of said plates having a slot therein extending upwardly therein from the bottom and being open at the bottom, said slots also being adapted to engage the rungs of the ladder, means for spacing said upright members and said angle irons apart, a deck supported by the inwardly extending flanges of the long angle irons.

2. In an angle bracket for a ladder, the combination of upright members running substantially parallel to the uprights of the ladder, long horizontally extending angle irons at the top of the upright members and pivotally connected thereto and having inwardly and upwardly extending flanges, short angle irons attached to the under side of said long angle irons midway between the ends thereof, said short angle irons having inwardly and downwardly extending flanges, downwardly opening recesses cut in the downwardly extending flanges of said short angle irons, said downwardly extending flanges with their recesses being adapted to engage with the rungs of a ladder, plates engaged with the upright members near the bottom thereof, each of said plates having a slot therein extending upwardly therein from the bottom and being open at the bottom, said slots also being adapted to engage the rungs of the ladder, means for spacing said upright members and said angle irons apart, a deck supported byv the inwardly extending flanges of the long angle irons, means by which the plates at the bottom of the long members can be adjusted up and down thereon.

3. In an angle bracket for a ladder, the combination of upright membersrunning substantially parallel to the uprights of the ladder, long horizontally extending angle irons at the top of the upright members and pivotally connected thereto and having inwardly and upwardly extending flanges, short angle irons attached to the under side of said long angle irons midway between the ends thereof, said, short angle irons having inwardly and downwardly extending flanges, downwardly opening recesses cut in the downwardly extending flanges of said short angle irons, said downwardly extending flanges with their recesses being adapted to engage with the rungs of a ladder, plates engaged with the upright members near the bottom thereof, each of said plates having a slot therein extending upwardly therein from the bottom and being open at the bottom, said slots also being adapted to engage the rungs of the ladder, means for spacing said upright members and said angle irons apart, a deck supported by the inwardly extending flanges of the long angle irons, a link attached to the forward end of each of the long angle irons and extending downwardly to the corresponding upright member, a series of holes in each upright member to a selected one of which the end of the link may be connected for the purpose of changing the angle between the deck and the upright members.

4. In an angle bracket for a ladder, the combination of two upright members running substantially parallel to the uprights of the ladder, two long horizontally extending angle irons at the top of the upright members and pivotally connected thereto and having inwardly and upwardly extending flanges, a deck supported by said long angle irons and spacing them apart, short angle irons attachedto the underside of the long angle irons midway between the ends thereof, said short angle irons having inwardly and downwardly extending flanges, and downwardly opening recesses cut in the downwardly extending flanges of said short angle irons, said downwardly extending flanges with their recesses being adapted to engage with the rungs of the ladder, plates engaged with the upright members near the bottom thereof, each of said plates having a slot therein open at the bottom, said slots bein adapted to engage the rungs of the ladder, said slots being behind the upright members, means for spacing said upright members apart at the bottom thereof and at an intermediate point between the bottom and top thereof, the first named spacing means at the bottom being placed in front of the upright member.

5. In an angle bracket for a ladder, the combination of two upright members running substantially parallel to the uprights of the ladder,

- connected thereto and having inwardly and upwardly extending flanges, a deck supported by said long angle irons and spacing them apart, short angle irons attached to the underside of the long angle irons midway between the ends thereof, said short angle irons having inwardly and downwardly extending flanges, and downwardly opening recesses cut in the flanges of said short angle irons, said downwardly extending flanges with their recesses being adapted to engage with the rungs of the ladder, plates engaged with the upright members near the' bottom thereof, each of said plates having a slot therein open at the bottom, said slots being adapted to engage the rungs of the ladder, said slots being behind the upright members, means for spacing said upright members apart at the bottom thereof and at an intermediate point between the bottom and top thereof, the first named spacing means at the bottom being placed in front of the upright member, braces attached to the intermediate spacing members and at the top to the forward ends of the long angle members.

6. An angle-bracket for a ladder comprising two upright members running substantially parallel to the uprights of the ladder, means connected thereto at the top thereof for engaging with an upper rung of the ladder, an upright plate attached to each of the upright members at the bottom thereof, each of said plates having a downwardly opening slot on one side of said upright member adapted to engage with a lower rung of the ladder, a tie rod connecting each of said plates in front of said upright members, said tie rod forming a step with the adjacent rung of the ladder.

BERNARD C. DYER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

two long horizontally extending angle irons at V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 328,999 Ballmann Oct. 27, 1885 567,755 Stillman Sept. 15, 1896 1,187,437 Lucas June 13, 1916 

